Spring Grove teen dies after car hits utility pole

March 13, 2007

McHENRY COUNTY — A McHenry County teenage driver died Saturday after he hit standing water on a rural road and crashed into a utility pole, officials said Monday.

Thomas Artz, 17, of Spring Grove was driving west on Sunset Road near Meyer Road in Spring Grove about 1 p.m. when his car encountered deep standing water, authorities said. The car hydroplaned and rolled several times before the driver's side hit a wooden utility pole.

Artz was airlifted to Milwaukee's Froedert Hospital for treatment of brain injuries, said an investigator with the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office.